DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Host or any of Stephenie Meyer's lovely world

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Host or any of Stephenie Meyer's lovely world. I do however hold rights over Sky, Carly (who will come back), and a few additional small characters added to the mix.

Haha, for those of you confused about the name of the story, the explanation will come with time. It's not as random as it may seem, I promise. :P

Thank you guys for the reviews in such a short time! Confetti for you!

s w i t z e r l a n d

It took me a moment to come to my senses. For being a logical person, I often let the most intense of my emotions overtake me. I'd spent the last eighteen days burying my grief deep in my core, refusing to believe that the last person I'd had was lost. It was a crashing reality as I lay on the cot, sobbing into the boy's dark curls. Carly was not coming back. And if she did, she would not be the sister I had grown up with. She would be something ultimately different and the pain of that felt as though it was going to rip me in half.

I released Jamie, pulling back and scanning the room, always keeping the mirror-eyed woman in my line of vision. I couldn't fathom her presence. I had never been particularly afraid of them as a species, more of the oppression they forced upon us. I couldn't deny they were kind and harmonious however, they did not give us a choice. They called themselves souls, and yet they did not seem to realize that we were 'souls' as well. They could not shut us away as they had thus far.

"Sky, my name is Jamie. This is Jeb. He basically runs this place. That's Doc." He pointed to the man who I had recognized as the doctor. Fitting name. "That's Mel. She's my sister." He pointed to the tall woman with dark hair and a strong expression. I could vaguely see the resemblance between the two siblings. "Jared." He gestured to the man next to Mel. "Ian. And Wanda." He pointed out the woman with the mirror eyes last as though giving me a moment to let it sink in.

"Is that your host's name or your real name?" I asked a bit coldly. It wasn't kind of me, but I had reason to be cautious.

"Neither. I don't recall my host's name. This body had a soul previous to me, so the original girl's name has long been forgotten. My name is Wanderer. Wanda for short." Wanda stated, nodding. She seemed to understand my hesitance to accept her. She looked very young, especially for being with Ian, the man beside her. Who was I to judge, though? It was the end of the world and all.

I sat up in the bed, assessing each of them with a wary expression. I cleaned the salty tears from my cheeks, ashamed that I had even begun crying in the first place. I could feel the sticky tear tracks running down my dirty face. I grimaced when I quickly realized I hadn't showered in over two weeks. I must've truly looked like hell. That's what you get for wandering around the desert, aimlessly looking for a colony of rebel humans.

"Sky, how did you know that we were here?" Jeb asked, stroking a tiny bit of his god-worthy beard.

"My sister hacked into the Seeker radio channel. She heard there had been soul disappearances north of Tucson. She immediately assumed there were more of us. She tends to jump the gun. I didn't think there was only my sister and I left in the world, of course, but I doubted we would find anything. She always told me I was too much of a skeptic." I paused, my throat tightening. I refused to allow the tears to fall again, though I did feel my face go crimson with the effort to hold them back. "We were on our way up through Tucson when we got pulled over by a Seeker. We'd stolen a car and the Seeker thought ours matched the description of the stolen one. Of course, it WAS the stolen one. Anyway, Carly got out and signaled for me to cut and run. So I did. And I had to try to look for you." My voice broke. I bit my lip, choking back the sobs that threatened to rock my small frame. "Carly…she's probably gone by now." I felt blood bubble on the incision formed on my lip. I didn't realize I'd been biting so hard until I tasted the iron on the tip of my tongue.

"Your sister, is there any chance she can find us?" Jared asked, concern writing itself along his sharp features.

I shook my head, quickly licking the blood away. "I don't think so. She never had my sense of direction. All she knew was you were north of Tucson. They would wander for weeks if they wanted to and find nothing. How did you find me anyway? I was sure that there had to be an eighty mile radius of possibility. For all I knew you could've been closer to Phoenix than Tucson." I wondered, changing the subject so as not to dwell on the absence of my sister. It was easier for me to strategize than to concentrate on my emotions. It was necessary. I had to lock them away in order to stay sane.

"We've been doing sweeps. We've had contact with other colonies. Sometimes they send people our way, so we've had to do routine searches of the area every two or three weeks." Mel responded, nodding sagely.

"There are other colonies?" I asked, shocked, though I knew logically I shouldn't have been.

"Yes. Many, in fact. More than we had ever anticipated." Mel continued, glancing at Wanda briefly and then back at me. I missed the reason for the exchange.

"Wow. Oh my god. Wow." I pulled my knees up to my chest, threading my fingers through my stringy hair. This was far too much to take in. All these years, all this time, we were not alone. This realization hit me like a quickly careening out of control school bus. The world suddenly seemed much more alive than I had previously thought. I felt extremely connected to every person in the room, excluding Wanda. I had nothing against her, but my caution was not something I could abandon. "So…how long have you been here?" I asked, looking up with wide eyes at Jeb, then Doc, then Jamie.

"From the beginning just about. Everyone else thought I was crazy." Jeb gave a significant look to Mel and Wanda that made them smile, as though there was a joke I wasn't in on. Everyone else quickly caught on, though it was apparent that Mel and Wanda were the only ones that truly understood it.

"So, can…can I stay here?" I asked cautiously. I had no idea if their little community was overpopulated. Would I have to travel many more miles to find another colony?

"Of course, child. We may be packed in tight, but we're not going to set you out. You're young. We wouldn't dare do that to a young girl such as yourself." Doc said with an encouraging smile. "You're welcome to stay here tonight, or we can offer you alternative lodging. I'm not sure where we'll put you, but we'll figure something out until we can mine a little more." Mine? They were carving out the caves more?

"She can stay with me! Since Kyle and Sunny went up north, I've got a room all to myself!" Jamie volunteered with a big grin. His smile was encouraging and infectious. It lightened my mood a little, pulling my lips up infinitesimally. I wasn't sure how I felt about sleeping in the same room with a boy. After all, I'd lived alone with my sister for the last ten years. Contact with the opposite sex was minimal at best. The last boy my age I knew was my five year-old best friend Jason who was one of the last to go before I left. And back then the issue of hormones and sex were nonexistent. I was fifteen now, and the sex issue was a shining red target in my life. Carly and I more than once had come upon the issue of repopulation.

Though by the look of this place, it didn't seem that would be a problem.

"I suppose that is the only place suitable. Though it really depends on Sky's comfort zone." Mel smiled at her brother, and I immediately understood the deep connection between them. It reminded me of Carly. I bit my lip, reopening the cut. I spotted the same expression on Wanda's face. There was a distinct connection between her and Mel, but I couldn't seem to pinpoint it. It was going to bother me until I got to the root of the issue.

I didn't realize for several seconds that they were all waiting for my response. "Oh…well, not to knock this little hospital you've got going here, but I'd rather not stay here. Too sterile." It was an incredibly clean environment, and though I craved a long bath, I felt uncomfortable in such a hospital-like place. I'd never been comfortable in hospitals, beginning at the age of three.

"Alright. I guess that settles it. And no offense taken, Sky. I've heard that many a time." Doc smiled. He was incredibly tall and I had to crane my neck to look up at his face. I smiled in response. They were nice people here, as far as I could tell, and I was a good judge of character.

"Well, Sky, I'm sure you'd like something to eat and drink. And a bath of course. Sorry, but…well, you stink." Mel grinned jovially at me and I couldn't help laughing. I couldn't deny that the stench radiating from me was unpleasant at best. When my stomach grumbled at the mention of food, I realized how hungry I was. The last couple of days of my journey I'd been neglecting the food in my pack, saving it for a much needed trip back to the road. I had known it was probably a futile journey that I was on. How wrong I had been.

"Yes, that would be much appreciated." I chuckled, rotating on the cot to hop off. Jamie, Jeb, and the other backed up to allow me space. My shoes collided with the floor and I swayed a little, still a little dizzy from the heat stroke. It was much cooler in these caverns, but my malnourishment had me feeling lightheaded and weak. I threw out a hand to balance myself and ended up falling forward. I thin strong hand caught my arm, holding me up. I was surprised to find that it was Jamie. He seemed very child-like and yet there was an aspect of him that radiated of enforced maturity. I wasn't surprised to see this, as I felt it if not more in myself than I saw it in him.

Mel gave Jamie a significant look that I missed the meaning of. I noticed that the closer the relationship, the harder it was for me to decipher their expressions to each other. They were very unique to the pair and so I could not use my usual methods of communication deduction. I could see that it was going to be hard for me know the truth behind everything here. The souls had always been easier to read than the humans. They were far more predictable. Except for Wanda. There was something truly different about her. I could see the difference, but it was so small, it was almost undetectable.

"Jamie, why don't you start showing her around? I suggest you start with the bath and work your way up to the kitchen." Ian laughed. His eyes, I noted, were an incredibly vivid blue. It was easy to get lost in them. I had to forcibly pull myself from his face to keep my stare from getting awkward.

"Sure thing. Come with me!" Jamie stood. I realized as he stood from the stool next to the cot how very tall he was. He looked like he was in the transition from boy to man, as he was tall but thin. He was obviously very strong however, and surprisingly springy. He looked like he could easily outrun me, and I was a decent runner these days. Not to mention his long legs. It would be hard to keep up with him on a good day. If I were any more exhausted, he would surely be dragging me wherever we went. He took my hand, though at first I couldn't think why. It wasn't until he began pulling me through the pitch black corridors that I understood: there was no lighting in the tunnels. I glanced back at the infirmary once more, watching the expressions on the adults faces turn to amusement.

"Where're we going?" I asked in the darkness, trying to keep up with Jamie. I had been correct in the assumption that he was far too fast for me, especially today.

"We'll cut through the common room and you'll get to see the fields and such and then we'll head to the bathroom. We'll have to be careful because we've been working on a lot of renovation. We recently got a plumber from up north and he's going to see if we can work out a system. It will make things easier and things will be much cleaner. We might be able to work out a better irrigation system too with his help. We've got the supplies for it all, thanks to Wanda." There was a strong conviction to his voice when he said her name. His voice was so honest; it was hard to doubt the wholesomeness of her presence.

"So what is the deal with her? What is the story?" I asked, curious to find out what the connection between her and Mel was and how she came to be here.

"Mel was caught a couple years back trying to find our cousin, who is actually here. Wanda was the soul inserted into her body. Long story short, Mel's feelings for me and Jared made Wanda love us and so she came looking for us. One thing lead to another and Wanda decided to save Melanie by training Doc to remove souls from their host, which is kind of like the ultimate sin they can commit. So Doc removed Wanda. Wanda fully intended to die on this planet apart from her host, though she wanted to stay and live with us. But we couldn't allow that. Wanda is like another sister to me. We couldn't lose her." I couldn't see his expression in the dark, but I was sure it was a content one. His voice portrayed the love and devotion he felt towards his 'family'. I had to respect that. "We found a young girl inhabited by a soul and took the previous soul out and stuck Wanda in. The human girl had long been lost, but we packed up the other soul and sent it off for another planet. Wanda was adamant that we didn't kill the soul."

I had to admire Wanda's apparent respect for mind, body, and soul. She seemed to understand that though a humans 'soul' could not be separated from their body, they were very similar to the aliens' none-the-less. She truly seemed kind, exterior and interior, and so my fears were quelled quickly. "That's nice." I stated in the darkness, a soft smile in my voice.

"It is." Jamie agreed. I could hear the elation in his voice of my agreement. "You are more accepting than some. Why is that?"

"I believe that the souls simply do not realize they have oppressed us. I'm sure if they understood the concept of oppression they would be appalled. The only aspect of them I fear is that of losing my mind to them." I had to wonder, if I disappeared under a soul, what would happen to my conscience. Was there an afterlife and would my mind slip quietly into it or would I wait for decades before my body finally deteriorated and died to slip into what comes after death?

"I can understand that. You need not worry about that anymore. You will be safe here." Jamie responded, squeezing my hand, reassuring me of that.

I smiled, thoughtful. "Home." I muttered under my breath, liking the sound of the word more and more.

We emerged into a huge cavern. There was abruptly a huge amount of light that I was entirely unprepared for. I grunted, throwing my arm up to protect my eyes. I heard Jamie chuckle to my right. After my eyes adjusted, I lowered my arm, glancing up at the ceiling to find the source of the light. It seemed as though the rays dotting the walls were fragmented by crystals embedded in the ceiling. It struck me that they were not crystals but mirrors! "Ingenious!" I whispered, stepping further into the room, noting the plots of land filled with various grains and vegetables. "This is your agricultural system? It's amazing."

"Jeb came up with it. You'd be surprised. He may be very eccentric, but he is a genius." Jamie laughed, moving casually towards a tunnel to our right. I followed at a slower pace, still in awe of the cavern. Jamie stopped and looked back at me, a hint of amusement visible in his dark eyes. "Keep up. We don't want to have to smell you all day."

I glanced at him, mockingly amused. I trotted forward to catch up with him, afraid to lose myself in the dark tunnels of the caverns. Maybe once day we'd be lucky enough to get an electrician. I would celebrate the day with confetti.

"Up here you have to be careful." Jamie said after a few silent moments wandering seemingly aimlessly in the dark. "There's a river and we had some problems with fallen rock a while back. We've built some platforms, but they are still a little weak. We've yet to put the reinforcing beams in yet. It takes time because we have to repel over the platforms to get under it to work. Not to mention the absence of light. You don't come along a lot of hardhats down here." Jamie explained, stopping before an arched opening in the corridor wall. He pulled something from his pocket, slapping the small metal object against his palm. It was when light spread throughout the corridor that I realized it was a flashlight.

"Take this and I'll take you to the bath room. We'll have to check and make sure no one is in there right now. I doubt there will be, but you never know." Jamie said, pulling me along. I registered the loud rushing of a river, to my right. I turned the flashlight to watch the water ripple and gush just inches from my feet. It was far hotter here than I had expected.

We came to a small opening in the rock wall, the inside shrouded in complete darkness. I spotted out of the corner of my eye the platform Jamie had been talking about. "Hey, anybody in there?" Jamie called in, slapping the rock in order to get the attention of someone who might be hidden in the black water. There was no answer. "Alright, sounds clear. Just here is some soap and such. Unfortunately we don't have any clothes for you at the moment, though I'm sure we'll be able to scrounge something up. We will probably have something for you by tonight."

"Don't worry about it. Believe it or not, I've had worse." I chuckle, picking up the soap from its natural tray next to the 'door'.

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." He laughed. "I'll be waiting over here when you're done. Wouldn't want to you to fall into the river and never be seen again." He said as he backed towards the platform. Oh, well, that was encouraging. As if being incredibly clumsy wasn't enough. Now I had to worry about shifty sheet rock, raging rivers, and bumping into the walls. I would adapt well to this place.

I shook my head as I stepped into the small pitch black room, setting the soap and flashlight to the side. I stripped down in the shadow beyond the doorway and slipped silently into the water, relishing the refreshing feeling of it on my skin. I was immune to the temperature. All I cared about was removing the dead skin cells all over my body and cleansing myself of all the most natural smells we humans so often possessed. I dipped my head back, feeling the caked on mud turn to sludge.

I began raking my fingers through my hair, getting out all the mud and dust as I went along. I resolved to rub a little soap in it to get some of the worst muck out of my usually pretty sandy-brown hair. I scrubbed determinedly at my skin, feeling layers of dust and skin peel off in increments in the water. My skin felt a little raw when all was said and done, but it felt better than the grime that had previously been coating my body. The ebb and flow of the water in the tiny cavern soothed my aching muscles. I was still incredibly tired from my journey and I could still feel the angry rumble of my deprived stomach.

After several minutes of scrubbing and wading blissfully in the feel of the water on my skin, I stood and air dried a moment before putting my clothes on. I squeezed as much water I could out of my hair and picked up the flashlight, climbing out of the little room and directing my flashlight to the platform. The dim beam fell on Jamie who leaned against the wall as he waited. He grinned at my appearance, getting up in a single lithe movement. "Took ya long enough. Though I can't deny, you look a lot better than you did. You should've seen yourself." He snorted, holding his hand out for the flashlight. I handed it to him, raising a skeptical brow.

"Somehow, I'm glad I didn't. Now let's get something to eat. I'm starved. Quite literally." My stomach protested loudly in response to my words, rolling angrily in my abdomen. I grimaced, putting a hand to my belly as if it would soothe the primal ache there.

"That's probably best. You seem like an unstable person on your best day."

"Very astute." I chuckled, following him as we return into the dark corridors. He lead me along them, passing various tributary corridors. We emerged into the field again and he led me across it to yet another dark path, this one leading farther upward. I was again astounded by the light shed from the mirrors above. I wondered if I would ever get used to it. As the ground rose under our feet, a few cracks formed in the ceiling, revealing a few sparkling rays of sun: proof that there was a world beyond this little one I'd stumbled upon. Finally we reached what I suspected was the kitchens. In the corner people were working on making bread, probably for dinner in a couple of hours. It smelled delicious, but then again, that could have just been the severe hunger talking.

"Hey, Judy! Is there anything left from lunch? Sky here hasn't eaten in days." Jamie called jovially, releasing my hand as we stepped again into the light shed by the cracks from above. I hadn't realized he'd been holding it. "She heard rumors about a colony north of Tucson. Spent weeks in the sun looking for us I think. She sure looked like it anyway." Jamie picked up a hunk of bread off the counter, shrugging as Judy rolled her eyes at the sixteen year-old boy. Jamie tossed it to me and I caught it in the nick of time.

"Nice to meet you." I said, holding out my free hand for her to shake. She laughed, raising her hands to show the flour covering them.

"Sorry, hun, I would, but as you can see…and it's nice to meet you too." She had a warm smile that immediately made me feel more comfortable in this foreign environment. I leaned against the counter, sinking my teeth gratefully into the bread Jamie had given me. It tasted like heaven. Within seconds it was gone, but my stomach still churned for more.

"Yep, starved was a good term for it, I think." Jamie laughed at the look of pure hunger that had formed on my face. He scooted around Judy and found me a cheese sandwich and (thank god) an entire basket of bread. I wasn't one to take more than my share, but a good three days without food left you much more than emaciated. I swallowed the cheese sandwich whole, tearing into the bread in seconds. I'd finished the entire basket in three minutes flat.

"Are you okay now?" Jamie asked with raised eyebrows, amusement written in big fat letters across his forehead.

I wiped a few crumbs from the side of my mouth as I popped in the last bite of bread I had. "Something like that." I muttered, licking my lips and the tips of my fingers. "So…what now?" I asked, looked up at him as I nibbled at the crumbs at the bottom of the basket.

He grinned as though this were the exact question he was waiting for me to ask. "We play, of course."

s w i t z e r l a n d

So, I will probably update again within the next week, maybe sooner. I'm going to strive for a chapter a week, though I won't promise anything. School does encompass my life as it does many others.

Next Chapter Preview:

"I don't think you comprehend this! I will die! And it will be so fast you won't have time to twitch your finger."